Former WWE Divas Champion Kaitlyn has shared some honest thoughts about her time in WWE. She revealed that the hardest part of her career wasn’t wrestling in front of huge crowds. It was dealing with the pressure backstage.
Speaking with TMZ’s Inside the Ring, Kaitlyn looked back on her WWE career. Moreover, the former WWE star opened up about the emotional challenges she faced behind the scenes.
Kaitlyn did not receive a warm welcome upon her move up the WWE main roster
Kaitlyn joined WWE in 2010 after signing a developmental deal. She gained attention by winning Season 3 of NXT, which earned her a spot on the main roster.
But the move wasn’t as easy as she expected. She revealed that the women competing on NXT and WWE’s established female stars did not cross paths.
“When I debuted and was put on television for NXT and then I ended up winning NXT and I got a spot on the main roster, they put me on SmackDown… First of all, with NXT, with all of the NXT girls, like the six of us, we were not allowed to be in the main locker room with the main talent, the women. We were always in this other little tiny room,” Kaitlyn said.
When she officially joined SmackDown, she recalled that some of the top female stars at the time were “not welcoming,” which made the transition even harder. Although she didn’t mention any names, she admitted that the reaction from certain veterans added to the pressure she was already feeling.
However, she also had people who helped her along the way. “There were the women like Beth Phoenix, Eve Torres, Natalia who were so kind and truly mentors in so many ways,” she said.
Despite the challenges backstage, Kaitlyn found success in WWE. After teaming with AJ Lee as part of The Chickbusters, she eventually became a singles star. This led to her rise as she won the WWE Divas Championship by defeating Eve Torres in January 2013.
However, even as her career soared to new heights, she was struggling personally.
“During that time, it was kind of also what I spoke to, it was this buildup of emotional chaos that I didn’t know how to handle and it was more pressure, more spotlight. I was just gaining weight and so it was adding to this insecurity that I had,” Kaitlyn said.
Kaitlyn also revealed that she gained a significant amount of weight during that period, which affected her confidence even more. She eventually left WWE in January 2014 after four years with the company.
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